The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who died at age 84, was considered among the most influential holders of the vice-presidency in American history. Whereas many VPs had to settle for peripheral or symbolic functions, Cheney wielded substantial sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was commonly referred to as the "true president".
Bush disliked this portrayal and stated the relationship was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently calling him in public as President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a collaboration because it suggested that they were on equal footing. In spite of these denials, Cheney found the easygoing president pliable on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a faction of conservative hawks that included Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. At the time of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a elementary school in Florida. As Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any non-communicating planes heading toward the government building.
Cheney claimed the assaults changed him, leading him to become focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then vigorously pushed for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.
Disputed Decisions
He voiced no apologies about the military campaign, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the waterboarding of detainees captured after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the correct path to take. "It was the correct action to do at that time. I had faith back then and I maintain that stance presently."
Yet even then, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the botched execution of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was not retained from the post. "I witnessed, at the very least," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, negligence, and recklessness: in the worst case, lying, incompetence, and corruption."
Broader Context
Cheney was not completely accountable for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for such action. He had drafted a document detailing situations in which US concerns might be compromised (including "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the US should be postured to take unilateral action when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the White House generally inclined on executing what his parent had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the president, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of reducing America's participation in the regional tensions and suggested armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been behind a scheme to kill his parent, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the biggest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a image of his parent's visage that all visitors had to step on.
Questioning Techniques
But it was Cheney who was among the most outspoken supporting striking Iraq, repeatedly citing agency briefings that were both weak or completely inaccurate. He endorsed what the Bush administration euphemistically referred to as "enhanced interrogation", the application of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Answering a Senate analysis in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney disregarded the findings as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and establish procedures to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
External Perception
Cheney enjoyed nicknames assigned to him by critics such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Do I represent the malevolent mastermind in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? This represents a advantageous way to work, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his business interests pursued him during his tenure as vice-president. While he had minimal expertise in business but established relationships in military, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.
In 2000 he assumed the role of Bush's running mate for the executive branch. Debatably, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His annual income during his tenure at the firm grew from his $258,394 while military head to millions. When he resigned in 2000 he had a severance arrangement worth in excess of $20m|twenty
